


Green Eyed Monster

by januarylily



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: oc pairing undetermined
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-08-09 19:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16456172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/januarylily/pseuds/januarylily
Summary: This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world…or something like that. Annabelle Andrews never felt like she was enough. She knew her parents loved her. She knew that her twin Archie would be there for her, but still, she felt like there was something missing in her life. Can she find it before darkness finds her?





	1. Prologue: Dear Diary

_Dear Diary,_

_Is diary capitalized in this situation? I don't know. The only reason I am even writing in this stupid thing is because my counselor thought it would be a good idea. She said I could call it a journal so that it might feel less stupid, but I think whether I call it a diary or a journal it's still a stupid idea. She said I needed a more positive way to channel my emotions. Pft. What does she know? She works as a high school guidance counselor in Riverdale. I'm not sure how much worse it gets than that._

_What emotions am I dealing with you ask? (Are you really asking? That was probably a stupid way to phrase things. I'm asking myself what I'm dealing with. Gah! This whole situation is making my head hurt) Anywho, my parents split. My mom's in Chicago. She wanted Archie (My brother in case you didn't know. Although you technically do know this because it's me writing this. How the hell is this supposed to help me?! I'm talking to myself. I thought that was frowned upon.) Where was I? Right. Mom wanted Archie and me to come with her. Archie wanted to stay with Dad and I stupidly decided that I was staying wherever my brother stayed. We're twins. It just seemed wrong to split us up. Although, it would make orchestrating a Parent Trap situation to get our parents back together much easier._

_I love my brother, I do. Archie has been my best friend since forever. But I'll only say this here and nowhere else, but I'm jealous of him. He has it all. He's good at music. He's good at sports. People like him. He has Juggie and Betty. I have…him and am shit at most everything. He's probably embarrassed of me. Who wants to be friends with their twin sister? The Blossoms were the exception, not the rule. ~~Although, I think their relationship borders on incestuous.~~ I might not have many friends, but I still hear things. If Cheryl ever finds this diary thing, I'm screwed. I'll just cross that out then. I shouldn't speak ill of the dead._

_That's the other thing. Jason Blossom. Pretty sure he's dead. He's been missing since the 4th of July and no one's heard anything. I wasn't friends with him. I didn't even like him. The only time I ever talked to him was when he was picking on me, telling him to leave me the hell alone. The last thing I ever told him was that I hope he rotted in hell. I haven't told anyone about that. What if my words came true? Maybe I'm cursed. Maybe people might think I did it. But he was being an ass to me. He deserved much worse. But there's no way in hell I killed him. I couldn't stomach it._

_How much am I supposed to write in this thing? Is there an appropriate word count for a diary entry? C'mon, Belle, this isn't one of Mrs. Bloom's essays._

_So…I just reread this whole thing and so much for being positive. Total negative Nancy here. Mrs. Burble said I should also be putting my hopes and dreams in here too. The problem with that is that I don't usually let myself hope or dream. I always just get let down. What's the point? She said I should start small. So, here goes: this year, I want to find love. Not necessarily a romantic love. But I just want to feel loved in a way that I haven't felt before._

_Well, Dad's calling. Gotta go. We're headed to Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe for dinner. Gonna get me a shake. So, bye. Talk to you later._

_3 Belle_

_P.S. I feel like an idiot._

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is going to suck. For as long as I can remember, I have always looked forward to the first day of school. I always saw it as a chance to start new. A blank slate. That bubble has been burst. I used to get high off school supplies. (Not literally high, like drugs high, but like euphorically happy over a box of crayons, kind of high) I didn't even go shopping before school started this year. I used to beg my dad starting July 1st to go shopping for school. He always thought I was a little nuts, but he knew how happy it made me. I think he was kinda shocked when I didn't ask him to go shopping this year. He asked me and I told him it wasn't necessary._

_God, I suck. I'm practically pushing everyone away. I don't know why I do it. I just do. I don't want to push them all away. I don't know why I'm doing it. There's probably something wrong with me. And whatever reason that is, it's probably why everyone likes Archie better. Ugh. Here I am again, going off on my brother. 2 for 2 entries. I suck. I swear I don't hate my brother. I'm just a broken and conflicted person. (I'm not sure how this writing it out thing is supposed to make me feel better. In fact, it's making me hate myself even more.)_

_So, last night kinda sucked. I probably should've written this down then, but I was just too freaking exhausted to do it. I'm not sure someone my age should be this tired. I feel like I'm 75. Anyway, my brother wanted to get me out of the house, so he invited me to go with him and Betty to Pop's. Buuuut, I'm pretty sure that Betty thought it was going to be some kind of date. I could tell from the fake smile on her face that she didn't want me there. It wasn't that Betty didn't like me. No, it was the fact that she wanted to be alone with Archie. I got it. So when we got to Pop's, I ditched them and sat at a table with Jughead, who I haven't seen since July. Found out why that is._

_Apparently, Juggie and Archie had some sort of falling out. Juggie wouldn't tell me why or what happened. Just said that there had been a parting of ways. Honestly, it's weird that Archie didn't tell me. Not that Archie tells me everything. I guess I just assumed he did. It probably isn't cool to tell your twin sister things like that. He probably thought I would meddle. Which, if I'm being honest, I probably would. Now that I think of it, I spend most of my time making sure that other people are happy and I hardly ever do anything for myself. I just bottle up what I want or make it disappear._

_Huh. Maybe that's what this diary thing is supposed to help me realize? If so. Score one for the diary. (It's still losing to me though)_

_It was a little strange hanging out with Juggie on my own. I think I can count on one hand the number of times Juggie and I were alone without Archie. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, Jug and I just never had a need for each other's company before. Granted, he knew I was using him so that I didn't have to be the third wheel on Archie and Betty's is-it-or-isn't-it date. Except for the little tidbit about the status of Juggie and Archie's friendship, Jug and I didn't talk much. He just typed on his laptop and I drank my shakes. I had two. I couldn't decide. So sue me. Although, that really wouldn't be to your benefit since you're me and any money you drain from me is getting drained from yourself._

_Gah! This whole talking to yourself in diary form is hurting my brain._

_Anywho, Archie is calling. It's time for school. Wish me luck. I really don't want to do this. Well, if I write again, that means somehow the gods have seen fit to let me survive another day of high school._

_Tootles,_

_Belle_

* * *

Author's Note: Someone on Tumblr asked me to put this here. I don't know what it's gonna become. But I'm semi-inspired for it and it's better than writing nothing. Thanks to those who read this. Means a lot. :) Pairing hasn't been determined yet. Leaning Sweet Pea or Jughead. But I honestly don't know yet.


	2. Pictures of You

I shoved my diary in my backpack from last year. Mrs. Burble has said it was better to write things down as they came to me; a way to channel my emotions into something I could better understand. Honestly, I really didn't like the idea of carrying my most personal thoughts around with me, but Mrs. Burble said she was going to ask to see my diary at school. She promised not to read it, unless I wanted her to, which obviously I didn't. Not only because I didn't want her seeing my most private thoughts, but also because I should have had way more entries than the total of two I had amassed in like two months.

Swinging my backpack on my back, I took a look at my reflection in the mirror. I sighed. This time last year, I was debating the perfect lip gloss to compliment my skin tone to make the perfect impression. This year, I didn't care. There was no one at Riverdale High that I was even remotely interested in impressing this year. I was a sad and pathetic excuse for a sophomore girl. I should be flirting with boys or gossiping with my friends over milkshakes. Instead, I was a mess, an unfixable mess, in my opinion.

I just wanted to be happy. Was that so much to ask for?

Archie called for me again. I opened my door to find my brother standing right outside of it. "You ready yet?" Archie asked me, in the condescending old brother kind of way.

"Nope," I responded, popping the p for emphasis. I tugged the straps of my backpack and stared up at my brother.

"Lighten up, Annie," Archie chuckled as he reached over and ruffled my hair.

I groaned for two reasons. One, I hated when he messed up my hair. Two, I hated being called Annie. It was the nickname my parents had went with when I was younger, but I much preferred to go by Belle now. Annie was a little girl's name and I wasn't a little girl anymore. Last year, I had tried to make the switch to Belle, but it had failed. Everyone still called my Annie. Ugh. It was the red hair that through people. They said I looked more like an Ariel than a Belle.

Archie waved his hands in front of my face. "Earth to Annie."

I rolled my eyes and swatted his hand away. "Let's just get this over with," I muttered before I slipped past my brother.

My dad was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a camera. I rolled my eyes. At some point, the first day of school pictures tradition was going to have to stop. Did he think he was coming to college with us? I stopped a few feet away from him and folded my arms across my chest.

"Aren't you late for work or something?" I asked.

Dad just smiled. "I've already talked it over with the boss. He's cool with it." He paused and chuckled. "One of the perks of owning your own business."

I shook my head. Dads always thought they were funnier than they actually were. Archie came bounding down the stairs and stopped next to me. "Annabelle, are you gonna fix your hair?" Dad asked.

While I couldn't care less what my hair looked like in the stupid picture, it was simpler to appease my father than to argue with him. I took two hair bands off my wrist before I split my hair into two sections. I then quickly threw my hair up into two messy buns, leaving tendrils hanging down the sides. I left the tendrils so I could hide behind them later.

Dad didn't say anything. He just nodded his head. I knew he was having difficulty understanding a teenage girl. He had never been good at understanding them, not even as a teenager...and he sure as hell was over his head now, having a teenage daughter. I knew it was times like this when Dad wished Mom hadn't left...for my sake.

Dad motioned for Archie and me to move closer together. Arch wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. I then forced a smile on face as Dad counted down: Three. Two. One. Cheese. The camera flashed and I pulled away, but Dad held his hand up. "One more, Annie. Just in case."

We repeated the process.

"Dad, can we go now?" I asked after Dad had taken the second picture. He nodded his head and I quickly escaped. I just had to get out of there. I didn't know why I was like this. I knew my dad loved me. I knew my mom loved me. I knew my brother loved me. But why wasn't that enough? I wished I knew.

Archie caught up to me fairly easily. Not that I was trying to run from him, but the thought had crossed my mind. It was our tradition...walking to school together on the first day. We have walked to school together on the first day of school every year since Kindergarten. Granted, Mom or Dad usually walked with us when we were younger, but still, it was tradition.

Usually, I prattled on about how excited I was for the first day of school. Not this year. I would follow our tradition, but I was going to do it my way. I fished my earbuds from my backpack and shoved them in my ears before Archie could ask me anything. In my peripheral, I could see a somewhat disappointed look on Archie's face. This was usually our time to share our hopes and predictions for the year. But everything had changed.

Once at school, I was headed toward my homeroom where I could hide out until school started, but Mrs. Burble caught me in the hallway. "Miss Andrews, how about we catch up?"

Internally, I responded How about not? But instead, I just looked at Mrs. Burble blankly and nodded my head after a few seconds. Burble smiled a smile that was too forced to be sincere and led me to her office. She motioned for me to sit down, so I did. I slipped my Converse sneakers off and sat cross-legged in the chair as I had a few months prior. I nervously snapped the hair ties on my wrist as Mrs. Burble cleared her throat.

"How was your summer, Annabelle?" Mrs. Burble asked me.

"Summer-y," I responded, blowing a tendril of hair.

Mrs. Burble looked at me pointedly. "I'm trying to help you here, Annabelle. I need you to try too.."

I snapped a hair tie a little too hard and yelped. I then looked up at Mrs. Burble. "It sucked," I sighed. "I have no friends."

"I thought I saw you with Jughead Jones last night at Pop's."

I rolled my eyes. "Because I didn't want to play third wheel to Betty and Archie. Archie made me leave the house last night. Said it would do me some good."

"And was that so bad?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess not. But Juggie is Archie's friend, not mine...or at least he was." Mrs. Burble arched an eyebrow. I groaned. "There is nothing going on between me and Jughead. I just meant that he and Archie apparently aren't friends anymore. That's all."

"Oh."

Time to change the subject. While my love life had always been nonexistent, it still embarrassed the hell out of me to talk about it. The only person I ever talked about that stuff with was myself.

Huh. That's probably one of the reasons I am the way I am.

I reached down and grabbed my backpack, pulling the diary out for Mrs. Burble to see. She smiled. A genuine smile, I'm pretty sure. "How are you liking journaling?" she asked.

I shrugged again. "I don't know. And no, that's not some teenage cop-out. I honestly don't know how I feel about it yet. I mean, I still think it's stupid and I feel stupid doing it."

"I'm sensing a but…"

"But it might have helped me figure something out once."

Mrs. Burble smiled again. "Good for you, Annabelle."

"Thanks," I muttered. I could feel my face blush. Another thing about me: I suck at taking compliments. Is thanks an appropriate response? Should I be saying more than thanks? I tried to hide my face beneath the hair tendrils I left hanging.

"Let's talk about some goals for the year."

I glanced at the clock and chewed my lip. "Shouldn't I be getting to homeroom?"

"This will only take a minute."

I sighed, leaned back in the chair, and folded my arms across my chest. Glancing down at my socks, I could see a hole I had missed near my heel. How exactly does one miss a hole in their sock? Mrs. Burble cleared her throat and I looked up once again. I nodded my head to show her that I was listening.

"First, I would like to see you attend the Back-2-School dance. Spoiler alert, they're announcing today that we're still having it."

She must have noticed the look of sheer horror in my eyes because she held her hand up to let me let her explain. "I'm not saying you have to stay the whole time or that you even have to go with anyone. I think you might enjoy yourself if you did, but I don't want to see you miss out on your high school experience. I think this is something you're capable of. So, think on it."

I sighed again and nodded my head. I'd think on it all right. Think about not going. I mean honestly, did she forget that I had social anxiety issues? I didn't go to any of the dances last year because I heard rumors that Jason Blossom was waiting for me. Probably waiting to tear me down and belittle me. So, I just avoided the situation by not going. But this year, I didn't have a need to hide from Jason Blossom. I'm sure I could come up with some sort of excuse not to go.

Mrs. Burble called my name to get my attention again. "Second, I think it would be good for you to join an extra-curricular." She must have known how I was going to react because she quickly launched into her explanation. "I think it would be good for you to interact more with your peers, outside of daily classes. Let's find a hobby you can call your own, find something you're good at, so we can build that self-esteem."

"Are you trying to kill me?" I asked her, only somewhat jokingly.

"Annabelle, those are two goals that seem pretty manageable and we have to start somewhere."

"I thought that was why I had the diary."

"It is, but the diary is also to help you make sense of new situations you put yourself into. I don't want you hiding for the rest of your life and I don't think you want that either. I know you want some changes in your life. The changes aren't going to just find you, you have to find them."

I sighed. "You know, you could probably make more money as a motivational speaker. You're pretty good at it. Almost had me convinced."

Mrs. Burble shook her head. "Annabelle," she sighed.

"Yeah, I know." I wasn't sure how going to a stupid dance was going to help me. I could almost see how joining a club would help. Almost. But Mrs. Burble was right. I didn't want to be like this anymore.

The warning bell rang.

"I should probably get to homeroom," I said slipping my Converse sneakers back on. I stood up and adjusted my backpack. "See you next week then."

"Or at the dance," Mrs. Burble said rather pointedly. "I'm chaperoning."

I reached for the straps on my backpack. "I'm still thinking about it." With that, I left Mrs. Burble's office and headed for my homeroom, completely unaware that some things in my life were about to get hella weird.


	3. First Day on a Brand New Planet

My homeroom teacher had barely handed out our schedules for the year when it was time to go to the assembly. I didn't want to go to the assembly, but attendance was mandatory. Too bad I wasn't much of a rule breaker. Rule pusher? Yes. Rule breaker? No. That little voice in my head always talked me down...out of more than just breaking rules. Sometimes I just wish that little voice in my head would shut up.

I trudged down to the gym. I started to feel somewhat shaky and my stomach hurt. I know it shouldn't matter where I sit in the gym, but it did. I was having a minor panic attack about who I was going to sit next to for this assembly. That was part of the reasons I hated assemblies. I had no idea who I would sit by and I didn't want to be the girl who sat by herself. I wanted to be the girl flanked by her squad on either side. But I didn't have a squad. I didn't really have friends. I sorta had Archie's friends. But they were his friends and my acquaintances who tolerated me for Archie's sake...or at least that's what I told myself.

I took a deep breath before I walked into hell...more commonly referred to as Riverdale High's gym. I quickly scanned the crowd, clutching so tightly to my backpack strap that my knuckles had gone white. I spotted my brother. He was already sitting with some of his football buddies. Whatever relationship Archie had with the team didn't transfer to me. So, I knew better than to go sit with my brother. Betty Cooper sometimes took pity on me, but she too was already seated with the new girl and Kevin Keller. I honestly felt like I was going to puke, but the teachers would probably think I was faking.

Thankfully, from the far corner of the bleachers, Jughead was waving me up. At first, I thought he was waving at someone near me, so I did one of those awkward glances around things and then point at myself in confusion. Jughead nodded. Yes, I was grateful that I wouldn't have to be that loser sitting alone at the first day of school assembly, but I wasn't entirely thrilled that I had to climb all the way to the top of the bleachers to not be alone. It seriously felt like everyone was watching or talking about me. Mrs. Burble told me at our last session that most people probably didn't even notice me...but I'm not so sure that's any better.

When I finally made it to Jughead, I sat down beside him. "Thank you," I whispered.

"For what?" Jughead asked, looking at me rather quizzically.

I opened my mouth to explain to him that I was grateful for him letting me, his former best friend's sister, sit by him at an assembly. But, I decided it was better not to go that route and put both of us in an awkward situation. So, instead, I just said, "Nothing. Nevermind."

Jug looked at me curiously. "Oh-kay," he responded in a somewhat drawn out, I-don't-believe-you tone. I just forced a smile. I was good at that.

He shook his head. I think he knew I was faking, but he went along with it anyway. "So, how's your first day back been?" Jughead asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"You mean all ten minutes of it? Great. Excellent. Wonderful."

"You realize those are three things that all mean the same thing, right?"

I softly smiled. "Because if I keep telling myself today is those things, maybe it will be."

"Seriously?"

"Nah, but Mrs. Burble said I should try to be more positive. Do you think it's working?" I forced a smile, aiming to look crazy enough to mimic Jack from The Shining.

Jughead chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, definitely working." I could tell he was joking. He wasn't buying my act and for some reason, I was okay with that. For reasons unbeknownst to me, it made me feel a little better.

I snickered just as Principal Weatherbee had finally managed to quiet the audience down from the podium. It felt like my snicker echoed through the whole gym and that time suddenly slowed as most of the student body turned my direction. My face nearly turned the color of my hair as I flushed in embarrassment. I buried my face in my shirt and brushed my tendrils of hair so that I couldn't see those still watching me.

As predicted, Principal Weatherbee welcomed us back to another, what he hoped to be a great year at Riverdale High despite the noticeable absence of Jason Blossom-our hearts were heavy, but we must continue on….or something to that extent. And then Cheryl Blossom took to the stage, dressed in all black, looking more like a grieving widow than a sister. But Cheryl always had a flair for the dramatic.

Cheryl told us that the semi-formal back-2-school dance was still on. I groaned. What did semi-formal even mean? Were jeans acceptable attire? Probably not. I leaned a little closer to Jughead. "Are you going to that?" His brow furrowed. "You know, the dance?"

He blinked several times slowly. His expression was completely flabbergasted. "You've known me for how long now and you're honestly asking me that?"

"I-uh-well, I only asked because Burble says she wants me to go."

Jughead slightly backed away and then stared at me. He was silent for several moments, which felt like an eternity. "Are you trying to ask me to this thing?" he asked, almost too stunned that he was even asking me such a thing.

My eyes widened in horror. "God, no!" I squealed. While my squeal wasn't nearly as loud as my snicker earlier. Once again, several pairs of eyes from my classmates were on me. I buried my face in my shirt once again. Oh, this was so embarrassing. Beyond embarrassing. It was mortifying. Had I ever thought of Jughead like that? Sure, once or twice...okay, maybe a few times more. But what sister didn't occasionally didn't let her thoughts drift to some scenario with her brother's best friend when she was desperate. But she sure as hell didn't want him to know that.

"Yeah, uh, okay, cool," Jughead muttered, his tone sounding much more deflated than it had the last time he spoke.

God, why do I have to be so awkward? Why couldn't I just be normal like everyone else when it came to this kind of stuff? But no I groaned. ."I-I didn't mean for it to come off like that. I just..." I couldn't formulate any more words. Far too flustered...and embarrassed.

Too embarrassed to sit next to Jughead any longer, I stood up and bolted from the gym. A male teacher stood up to stop me, but I just told him I was having period issues, so he made no further attempt to stop me. Thank god that men were freaked out over menstrual cycles. But I didn't want to actually get caught for not going to the bathroom...so I stood in a bathroom stall until I heard the hallways began to fill with people, meaning that the assembly was over.

I attended my classes, but honestly, I couldn't tell you what they were about. I think I got a syllabus-type thing in each of them laying out what we would be doing, but I didn't really pay attention. Again, which was odd for me. I used to pay very close attention to whatever the teacher said. Not today. I was too lost in my own thoughts. I was very thankful when lunch finally rolled around the corner. I was glad to finally have a moment to myself.

With my lunch tray in hand, I walked across the school grounds to find a place to sit outside. I spotted Archie sitting with Betty, Kevin Keller, and the new girl. Pretty sure her name is Veronica. She was in my second-period class. Archie spotted me spotted me and we made eye contact. I know I could've sat with him, but I really just needed some me time. So, I gave him a forced smile before I went and sat under a tree. I know Burble wants me to mingle and make friends, but right now I'm just feeling slightly overwhelmed. Rome wasn't built in a day...I think. So I didn't have to do everything she asked me on one day, right?

I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I already felt a little better. So, I sat there for a few minutes with my eyes closed. Ants were probably devouring my lunch, but I didn't really care...I wasn't all that hungry. I focused on my breathing, as I had been taught to do, while the anxiety didn't completely go away, I did feel a little bit lighter. Well...at least until I opened my eyes. Standing right in front of me was Cheryl Blossom. Needless to say, I hadn't expected her to be there...so I screamed.

Cheryl smirked at me as I quickly stifled my scream with my hands. She then did something that completely surprised me. Cheryl Blossom sat next to me. "This year already sucks, don't you think?" she asked me.

After removing my hands from my mouth, I blinked slowly several times, trying to process what she asked me before I finally nodded my head. This was the strangest experience. Cheryl and I had never been close...like ever. And now all of sudden, here she was sitting next to me acting like she had known me my entire life. Weird.

"So, I overheard Burble talking to Weatherbee and she said that you needed to find a club to join. Completely kismet I overheard, you know? So, I got to thinking and I think that you should join the River Vixens. I can already tell you that you would make it."

I arched an eyebrow. "I can't dance," I barely choked out.

Cheryl just smiled. "But you're hot af and that's all that really matters. Dancing? I can teach you to dance. Looking hot? Not everyone is blessed with great genetics, Annabelle Andrews. You managed to come out of the gene pool with a steal. Besides, if I remember correctly, you used to be in gymnastics. It's not all that different and we could definitely use someone with gymnastics experience on the River Vixens...you know, to give us a better edge. Not that I'm not capable of doing it myself, you know, but us red-heads got to stick together...especially this year. Also, it will keep Burble off you back. Really, it's a win-win."

Unsure of what to say to Cheryl's monologue, I just said, "Oh."

Cheryl smiled again. "So, I will see you in the gym after school tonight." She quickly stood up and tossed her ginger locks. "Toodles," she said waving at me before bouncing away for her next unsuspecting victim.

I just sat there, completely stunned by what just happened. I didn't recall agreeing to actually try out for the River Vixens. But Cheryl has a way with words that leaves you thinking that you actually agreed with her, despite saying nothing.

I heard some twigs snap behind me. I quickly turned around to see Jughead walking around the tree toward me. His brow was furrowed. "Since when have you and Cheryl Blossom been all buddy-buddy?" he asked as he sat down beside me.

"Honestly, I have no idea." And that was the honest to God truth.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here's another chapter! Thank you to those of you who have read, favorited, followed, and reviewed my stuff. It means the world to me. I never expected to gain any following at all for this story. So,** y'all **have already blown me away.**

 **Also, if you have a** tumblr **and like** ocs **-you might wanna give** ocappreciation **a follow. My personal blog is** missjanuarylily **if you wanna follow me there too! :)**


	4. Ch-Ch-Changes

I never actually intended on trying out for the River Vixens. I was just nosy to see who was actually trying out, I swear. I guess my social anxiety doesn't cancel out my innate sense of curiosity. Although, I wish it would. One minute I was standing at the side door to the gym watching tryouts and the next, I was being forcibly dragged inside by Cheryl Blossom. I wasn't sure what her motivation was or why she even cared about me. Last year, she barely batted an eye in my direction and now she was all for us being besties. Nothing made sense anymore.

With Cheryl's arm tightly looped through mine, we marched toward the table where a few other River Vixens sat there watching us. I turned to look at Cheryl, she was all smiles. What the hell was going on? She stopped a few feet away from the table. I stumbled a few more steps after her. One of the girls seated at the table arched an eyebrow at me. Clearly, she wasn't impressed. But Cheryl just smiled at me.

Cheryl then looked at the girls sitting at the table. "Since the powers that be canned the gymnastics team due to budget cuts, whatever that means, Annabelle here is in need of a new home for her talents. I told her that the River Vixens would be a perfect fit for her." Cheryl tossed her curls before went to the empty seat at the table. She folded her hands on the table and looked up at me.

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of using the same music from your floor routine last year."

I blinked my eyes in confusion. "You know which music I used?" I asked, quite confused. How the hell did she know what music I used? I suppose she could have asked my former coach, but that was getting a little stalker-ish.

Cheryl just giggled. "Of course, silly. JJ dragged me to like every meet to cheer you on. You slayed by the way, which is why I don't think some budget cuts should be allowed to kill your talent."

I stood there gobsmacked. JJ dragged Cheryl to my meets? JJ? As in Jason Blossom? As in the boy who practically tortured me? What the actual hell? My brain couldn't compute what she was trying to say. Maybe Jason had dragged Cheryl there so that they could think of other ways to torture and humiliate me. That was the only thing that made sense. Maybe this whole thing was a setup by Cheryl to continue her brother's humiliation of me. She probably had hidden cameras set up for my inevitable failure.

"Just tell me when to push play," Cheryl told me.

I was about to tell Cheryl that there must have been some sort of mistake, but then I caught Burble standing in the doorway to the gym giving me two thumbs up. Dammit. I couldn't walk away now with Burble watching me. I sighed and glanced down at my outfit. I wasn't exactly dressed for tumbling, but if I tried then maybe Burble would get off my back and then Cheryl would see that I didn't belong and then I could go back to how things were. Although, if I failed, whatever videos Cheryl was probably making would circulate quickly around the school and I'd never be able to show my face again. Great.

I dropped my backpack on the floor and took a few steps back. Hopefully, some of these moves came back just like riding a bike. I did a few quick stretches before I said, "Yeah, okay."

Cheryl's somehow grew bigger. How that was possible, I had no idea. She was probably just happy that I was stepping into her trap. She hit the play button and my heart began to race a little.

Music that was quite familiar to me began to play. I soaked in the first few bars of music, trying let it come back naturally to me. And then I started the choreography I had spent hours practicing. I wasn't as crisp or smooth as I once was, but hey, it was something. I ran into my first tumbling pass: round-off, round-off, back handspring. I nailed the landing. I grinned. I forgot the rush I got that came with gymnastics.

I went into a few more awkward choreographed moves before attempting my second tumbling pass: round-off, back-handspring, back-handspring. I threw in a few stag jumps and ended with the splits. It wasn't what I was once capable of, but it was better than expected. I sat there in my splits position breathing somewhat heavily. Cheryl stood up and started clapping. The two girls on either side of her looked at me in disbelief.

"Definitely in," Cheryl said. "We'll need to work on some of those moves, but you'll kick our hotness factor up, right ladies?" She looked at the two girls on her sides. Both of them just nodded slowly, without speaking. "Good, Annabelle's hot factor should help balance us with the addition of Ugly Betty." Cheryl did a fake gag with her finger before she looked at me. "Follow me, Annabelle, we need to see about getting you your uniform."

"I-uh-well I," I stammered, unable to get the words out of my mouth. I still wasn't sure I wanted to be a River Vixen. I was just told to try out for something. I wasn't told I actually had to do it...like long term. But the smile on Burble's face, who was still standing in the corner, guilt-tripped me. I knew I was her pet-project and I really didn't want to let her down. So, I followed Cheryl to the locker room after I picked up my backpack.

There was already a River Vixens' uniform hanging in my gym locker, which was conveniently open. Cheryl was starting to scare me a little. What was with the sudden obsession of me? I wished I had the courage to ask her. But instead, I just stood there as she reached up and grabbed the uniform for me and then handed it over. "Go ahead, give it a try."

I awkwardly smiled before I turned my back to Cheryl and dressed in the River Vixens uniform she had given me. It fit me perfectly. But as Cheryl explained while I was changing she was pretty certain we were the same size...or at least very close to the same size, so she knew which uniform would work best for me. Once I was fully dressed, Cheryl walked me over to the mirror. She kept an arm around my shoulder as we looked at my reflection.

My reflection shocked me. Never in a million years did I think that I'd be wearing a River Vixens uniform. I hardly recognized the girl staring back at me. She looked happy...almost. But I knew that an outside appearance didn't change what I was feeling inside me. It was a good mask though. A good mask for Burble, especially.

Cheryl smiled and squeezed my arm. "If only JJ could see you now."

Again, I was confused. Why was she continually bringing her brother up around me? I mean, I got that she was grieving the fact that he was missing...likely dead, but did she honestly not remember how he had treated me? I wanted to ask her why she kept bringing him up. But again, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I just said, "I should probably get home."

Cheryl eyed me slowly before she shrugged her shoulders. She then lifted a garment bag out of my gym locker, which hadn't been there during the school day. "This is for you. You'll need it for the Back to School dance."

"Why?" I gasped.

"Just trust me. You're going to need this."

"Oh-kay." I accepted the garment bag from Cheryl, who simply grinned. "But I'm not even sure that I'm going."

"But you must." Cheryl didn't explain further. She just smiled and blinked her eyes, as if that should be reason enough for me. This was weird. Now it really felt like I was falling into some sort of trap. And I really didn't like that feeling.

So, I said, "See ya," and left the locker room, dressed in a River Vixens uniform carrying a garment bag. Not at all what I expected to happen on my first day back at school.

* * *

 

The night of the dance came and while Dad was on the porch looking at the pictures of Archie with his dates Betty and Veronica, he had taken. I moped around the house in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. That morning, I had officially decided that I wasn't going. I was going to give Cheryl the dress back on Monday morning and tell her that I came down with the flu or something...or at least that was what I had planned.

I had just taken a swig of orange juice from the carton and bit dribbled down my chin when my dad called from the porch. "Annie, someone's at the door for you!"

Crap. It was probably Cheryl to make sure I made it to the dance. She had been acting strange all week about the dance. She kept making sure I was going and now she was here to make sure of it. Ugh. I quickly messed up my hair and pinched my cheeks to make them look rosy like I had a fever...or something before I walked to the front door.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Jughead Jones standing at the front door. He was dressed in a shirt, tie, and dress pants, but was still wearing that beanie of his. "I-uh-I know it's a bit late, but I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me...as friends, of course." That last bit seemed like an afterthought. What was he up to? It seemed like these days, I was suspicious of everyone.

"Friends?" I questioned. "We're friends?"

Juggie laughed. "Yeah, what else did you think we were?"

I folded my arms across my chest. Clearly, he considered us friends. That thought had never really crossed my mind. And I told him so. "Acquaintances. Sister of your ex-bff. Someone you used to tolerate because you were friends with my brother. Take your pick."

He shook his head. "C'mon, Annie. You said Burble wanted you to go to this. So, I'm sacrificing doing just about anything else to help make it more bearable for you. Because that's what friends do." I looked at him skeptically. "Seriously, I would much rather clip my toenails than go to this stupid thing. And yet, here I am."

I shook my head and looked at him pointedly. "And you wonder why you don't have a girlfriend." We had never really discussed that fact before, but I knew that he had never had one before...just like I had never had a boyfriend before.

"I've never wondered that, actually." He smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm a lone wolf. Although clearly, you've wondered about it."

I rolled my eyes and scrunched my face. Ugh. Sometimes Jughead Jones was incredibly annoying.

Just then, my dad leaned through the door. "Annabelle Celeste Andrews, don't let the poor kid have gotten dressed up for nothing. Go get ready." Dad looked at me pointedly and I looked back at him incredulously for putting me in such an awkward predicament. I then glanced at Jughead who was grinning.

"Ooh, middle name. He means business," Jughead chuckled.

I punched him in the arm before I quickly turned on my heel to escape, ran into a table, and fell to the floor. Not exactly how I envisioned that going. Jughead reached his hand out to help me up. I accepted it and he pulled me back to my feet. "I'll go get ready," I muttered. "But don't expect miracles."

"You can go in that for all I care," Jughead said with a shrug.

"Don't tempt me," I growled.

"Yeah, don't tempt her," Dad offered from the threshold. He was still watching us. "I want some pictures and I'm sure her mother will want to see them too. I'll never hear the end of it if I let my daughter go to a semi-formal in sweatpants." Dad then looked at me. "But don't take too long. Otherwise, you'll completely miss the dance, which given by the look in your eye you were considering."

"You don't know me," I scoffed.

Dad arched an eyebrow. "I'm your father. There's not much I don't know. I changed your diapers and kissed your boo-boos."

I rolled my eyes before I stomped upstairs to get dressed. This was not how I planned on spending my evening. I had envisioned watching Disney movies. Instead, I was now going to a dance with my brother's ex-bff in a dress that belonged to the sister of my ex-tormenter. Yeah, clearly just a normal night in Riverdale.

* * *

 

Author's note: And another chapter! Thank you to everyone who is reading this story! It really means a lot to me that so many of you are taking the time to read this. Some of the gymnast stuff might be a bit off-my research comes from online. So, I apologize. I tried. Haha.


	5. Dance, Dance

I was sitting in a dress in my dad's truck between my dad and Jughead. That's probably how horror stories usually start. Which really, I suppose wasn't really that far off from what actually happened. My fingers nervously rubbed the fabric of the blue dress I was wearing. If I wasn't already a social pariah, this would likely cement my position. It wasn't very cool to be driven by your dad to a dance...and then attend said dance with outcast Jughead Jones. That and the fact that my Converse were the only shoes I could manage to find a pair of. Yeah, any cool points I had somewhere earned were going to vanish.

The rumbling of the engine was the only sound in the truck. Awkward. I was already regretting my decision to go to this stupid dance. Stupid Burble for telling me to go. Stupid Cheryl for giving me a dress. Stupid Jughead for asking me to go with him. Stupid Dad for telling me to go with Jughead. This was just a multitude of stupid decisions. I wished I was in my bed, cuddled-up in my fuzzy pajama bottoms with a mug of hot chocolate watching Tommy Boy again. But no. I made the stupidest decision of all going along with all of this.

Dad pulled the truck right up to the front of Riverdale High. So embarrassing. Social suicide, here I come. I inhaled deeply. So, deeply that my dad noticed. He chuckled and patted my shoulder. "I could always come inside and take a picture or two." I knew he was teasing, but I wasn't having any of it.

"No!" I groaned, throwing my head back. "You already took like a million of them back at the house. If you take any more pictures of me, your camera is going to explode. Maybe even implode. Or worse...both."

That made him chuckle. "Dramatic much, Annie?" Dad asked. He moved his hand to ruffle my hair, but when he realized that it was sorta done up for the dance, he slowly lowered his hand and patted my shoulder instead.

I rolled my eyes. "This is Riverdale, Dad. There's no such thing as too dramatic."

"She's got a point, sir," Jughead offered coming to my defense. "She would probably be considered over-dramatic if we were in anywhere but Riverdale. Riverdale has its own scale of dramatics."

Both my dad and Jughead laughed. To defend my honor, I playfully swiped at Jughead's arm. In my defense, my angle was bad, but I barely brushed his arm. Jughead looked at me and shook his head. "Remind me to work on that with you. I don't think you're gonna get too far stroking people to death. You gotta learn how to punch."

"Archie tried," Dad chuckled. "You can see how well that worked."

"Oh, my, god. I hate you both," I groaned as I covered my face with my hands.

Jughead nudged me with his shoulder. "I'm just teasing you, Annie."

I looked at him through my fingers. He was softly smiling. So, I removed my hands from my face and looked at him. He was still smiling. Weird. I expected him to say something sarcastic, but instead, he opened the door and jumped out of the truck. He held his hand out to me. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"You've watched Aladdin recently, haven't you?" I asked him sarcastically. Jughead just chuckled and shook his head. I scooted across the seat toward him, but I swatted his hand away as I slid off the seat to the ground. I folded my arms across my chest and looked at Jughead. "Let's get this over with."

I was about to shut the door when my dad said, "Try to have some fun, Annie. You deserve to have some fun."

"Because this is obviously my idea of fun," I dead-panned.

"Don't make me ground you," he teased.

"Please do. Then I'll have an excuse to not…"

There was a high-pitched squeal coming from behind me...from the school. I paused and looked over my shoulder to see Cheryl Blossom running toward me...or what could best be described as running given the fact that she was wearing stilettos. She was squealing my name. "Annabelle! Annabelle!"

I closed my eyes and groaned.

"New friend?" my dad asked.

"No. It's just Cheryl."

"The same Cheryl who got you to try out for the River Vixens, which you got onto? Congrats by the way."

My brow furrowed. "How do you know about that?" I hadn't told any of my family members a damn thing about the River Vixens. That's when it hit me and I looked at my dad pointedly. Someone had dates tonight that had also made the River Vixens. "My brother has a big, fat mouth, doesn't he?"

"He's your brother, Annie. He's just doing his job. He worries about you, you know?"

I rolled my eyes at him as Cheryl approached. "Annabelle, look at you." Cheryl played with my hair for a few seconds before she turned toward my dad. "Hi, Mr. Andrews." She paused to smile at my dad. It was clear my dad didn't really know how to respond. He just waved. Cheryl looped her arm through mine. "Don't worry, I can take it from here."

Cheryl shut the door to my dad's truck and waved at him. With that, my dad drove away leaving me with Cheryl and Jughead. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that this wasn't going to go well. Cheryl tugged on my arm and led me toward the school.

"Hey!" Jughead called as he jogged to keep up with us. "She's here with me," he said rather gruffly as he grabbed hold of my other arm.

Cheryl stopped and furrowed her brow. "Who are you?" she questioned.

Jughead rolled his eyes. "You know who I am," he scoffed. Cheryl blinked at him blankly. Jughead cleared his throat and then said, "I'm Annie's date."

Cheryl blinked rapidly before she looked at me quizzically, a slight look of disgust on her face. A look that hadn't been directed my way in recent memory. "Are you dating him?" she hissed as she dropped my arm.

"No," I said, rolling my eyes as I freed my other arm from Jughead's grasp. "We're friends. That's all." I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with Jughead. In my peripheral vision, I could see his shoulders slump slightly...his bravado defeated. I chewed my bottom lip. "But I did promise him that I would come with him." I attempted to smile at Cheryl.

Cheryl narrowed her eyes at Jughead. She then looked at me and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Fine. I can see that you are a loyal friend...even if that friendship may be misguided. I might not like it, but I can respect it. So, I'm offering joint custody."

"What?" I muttered.

But Cheryl was looking at Jughead. "You can have her until nine. At nine I need her."

Jughead folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Cheryl."

Cheryl seemed to consider Jughead's response as an agreement. She nodded her head and flipped her hair once more before she looked at me. "Meet me in the middle of the gym at nine. I have a surprise for you." She smiled and then walked away with another hair flip.

"That was weird," I muttered rubbing my arms.

"She's up to something, Annie," Jughead whispered to me leaning so close that I could smell the cologne he had put on. "And I don't like it. I thought you said you weren't friends with her."

"I'm not," I whispered. "But for some reason, she thinks she's my friend."

"Watch your back around her, Annie. I mean it. You can't trust her."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh-kay. I get it, Juggie. Your distrust of Cheryl has been noted. Now, are you gonna keep lecturing about me Cheryl or are we actually gonna go to this thing?" I gestured toward the school which we were still standing outside of.

Jughead softly smiled. "I thought you didn't want to go."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing for you that I would much rather go to this stupid dance than get lectured." I looked at him pointedly with my hands on my hips.

He adjusted the beanie on his head. "I'm just looking out for you, you know."

I smiled. "Yeah, I know" I bumped him with my shoulder before I reached out and grabbed his arm so we could walk inside together. He looked down at me, surprised by my action, but he just went along with it.

Jughead and I walked into the gym and stopped at the entrance. He shook his head at the sight of the gym decorated with streamers and balloons. "This looks exactly like what you see in those cheesy chick-flicks"

"The fact that you know that means you've watched those chick-flicks." I looked up at him and smirked.

A blush crept onto his cheeks. "Archie and I may have borrowed your movies a time or two." That was clearly an understatement. But since he had confessed, I might as well go with it.

"Ha! I knew it! You both told me I was going crazy and come to find out you were stealing my movies."

"Borrowed. Borrowed. There's a difference. And in our defense, we were trying to understand the female mindset. We were trying to get dates."

I arched an eyebrow. "And how did that work for you."

Jughead smirked. "I'm here with you, aren't I?"

I laughed. "That could be taken, either way, you know."

"Yeah, I know." He nudged me with his shoulder. "C'mon, Annie. Let's get some punch."

We walked toward the refreshment table. "You know it's probably spiked," I offered.

"Nah, I don't think we'd get that lucky," he chuckled. "Burble's watching it like a hawk."

As Jughead and I approached the refreshment table, Burble gave me two thumbs-up. It was embarrassing. Why were adults so embarrassing. Thankfully, Jughead didn't seem to notice...or if he did, he didn't say anything. After all, he did know that Burble was the main reason I even came. Jughead handed me a glass of punch...which surprisingly hadn't yet been spiked as Archie and his dates Veronica and Betty approached the table.

Neither Jughead or Archie spoke a word to each other. Clearly, they were still not on speaking terms. But Archie reached over and ruffled my hair. "Look who actually made it," he said.

"Archie," I hissed. As I tried to move out from under his hand, I tripped over Archie's foot and fell into Jughead. "Oof," I grumbled as Jughead managed to steady me.

Archie shot Jughead a look. Jughead muttered that he would be back and something about the bathroom. I looked at my brother rather pointedly. He just shrugged his shoulders. I watched as Veronica looked at Betty and winked. Veronica pushed Archie toward Betty as she took a step toward me, extending her hand.

"You must be Annie," Veronica said. "Archie's told me all about you."

"Must not have told you everything. I don't like going by Annie anymore." Realizing how awkward that probably came off, I quickly extended my hand and shook hers. It was obvious she was only talking to me to give Betty time to talk to Archie alone. Makes one feel really great when you know you're being used. But I tried not to let it show.

Veronica didn't seem to read too much into my awkwardness. "If not Annie, then what?" she asked me.

I rubbed the fabric of my dress nervously. "I've been hoping Belle would catch on, but everyone I know still calls me Annie."

"Belle. It suits you."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

She chuckled. "Yeah, Annie is too cliche. Don't worry, you won't need to be reminded of a hard-knock life with me. And where Veronica Lodge leads, people will follow."

I just nodded my head. This girl while seemingly nice seemed awfully full of herself. I spotted Jughead walking back into the gym, so I excuse myself from my conversation with Veronica and ran over to my date. I punched him in the arm. "What the hell? Way to leave me back there."

"Sorry," he apologized lamely. Apparently, that was all he was willing to give me right now.

A fast song started to play. Jughead began to nod his head in beat with the music and I began to bounce in time. For nearly half the song, we stood there side by side doing that until Jughead asked, "Do you think we should go out there?"

"Probably," I responded. "This is a dance."

Jughead placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me further onto the dance floor. I threw my head back and laughed. We ended up dancing together for every fast-paced song. When a slow song came on, both of us would make some excuse: bathroom, too tired, thirsty, or hungry. Neither of us was quite yet ready to slow dance with each other...even if it was just as friends.

About a minute before nine o'clock, I spotted Cheryl standing in the middle of the gym floor. She was motioning me toward her. "Don't say I didn't warn you," Jughead whispered to me.

I gently pushed his chest before I walked toward Cheryl. My heart was pounding. Needless to say, I was incredibly nervous...although, I wasn't sure why. When I got to the middle of the dance floor, Cheryl took my hands in hers. "A lot of planning has gone into this," she whispered to me.

My brow furrowed. This was starting to feel a little weird. Okay, a lot weird.

Suddenly, all the lights went out. A myriad of screams erupted from the student body until a screen lit the room with an image of Jason Blossom. I looked at Cheryl in confusion, but she just smiled.

"What is this?" I whispered, but she didn't say anything. She just kept smiling. My heart started to race.

"Annabelle?" Jason's voice echoed through the gym. "Annabelle Andrews? You want me to talk about Annabelle Andrews?" Jason's brow was furrowed on the screen.

I froze.

The video then cut to Jason saying my name like 50 times. Each time he was wearing something different in the video. Every time his voice spoke my name, I shrank smaller and my face felt hotter. The video stopped on an image of Jason smiling and suddenly spotlights were focused on the center of the gym… on me.

I tried to shield my eyes from the bright lights. But the whispers began to swirl and I could feel all eyes on me. My heart began to race. Faster. And faster. And the whispers grew louder. Some of them turned into laughter. I was being humiliated in front of the whole student body. I needed some air. I needed to get the hell out of there.

So, I ran. I ran from the gym. I ran down the hall. I ran out of the building. I ran down the sidewalk. I heard voices calling my name behind me, but I didn't stop. I ran and never looked back.


	6. Little Bridges

I ran and I ran. It was a good thing I had worn my Converse sneakers with my dress. I wanted to run home, but that would only bring questions I wasn't prepared to answer. I loved my dad, but he would ask what I was doing home so early or why hadn't Jughead walked me home? Which would lead to questions that I didn't want to answer. So, I ran. I took the path I ran almost daily. I hated running, but I ran anyways to try to clear my head. To feel the wind against my cheeks so that I might feel almost human once again. I had picked up running to stay in shape for gymnastics the last few years, but recently, it had become more of a therapeutic experience for me. It worked better than that stupid diary Burble asked me to keep.

I always ran as far as the bridge that separated the north side from the south side of Riverdale. Hardly anyone ever went there. Southside didn't like going Northside and Northside didn't particularly enjoy going Southside. The bridge was sort of no-mans land that wasn't often occupied. I liked to think of it as my own personal sanctuary because while it existed, it didn't really belong. I know, pretty deep. Right?

When I came to a stop on the bridge, I was finally able to catch my breath. I was sure I looked really stupid standing on the bridge that connected the two sides of Riverdale in a dress and sneakers, but right now I didn't really give a damn. I just needed time to process. I leaned against the railing of the bride. I really should have known better. I should have known not to trust Cheryl. Well, technically, I did know better. But I let myself be pushed around like I always did. What the hell kind of stunt was she trying to pull? The only thing I could really think of was that she and Jason had been plotting my demise for some time now and that even though Jason was missing, Cheryl had decided to follow through with their diabolical plot.

I kicked the sidewalk. How could I have been so stupid? This was exactly why I didn't trust people. It was crap like this that made me want to stay as far away from people as was humanly possible. I had acted like a freaking idiot all night. Not only about the being blind-sighted by Cheryl thing but hanging out with Jughead. Flirting with him? What was I thinking? For supposedly being a smart girl, I was really stupid. So stupid I was pissed not only at Cheryl...at Jughead...but mostly at myself.

I just wanted things to go back to normal, despite knowing that things would never be normal again. Tears began to slip down my cheeks. I wanted my mom to come home...and stay home. I wanted Riverdale to bring back the gymnastics team. I wanted to go back to being a happy nobody. But I knew I wanted things I couldn't ever have. And that was the hardest part of it all. I was stuck. Unable to move forward because I couldn't let go. God, life really sucked sometimes.

After roughly wiping away my tears with the back of my hand, I ran my fingers across the bridge railing. It was more like a cement wall a little wider than a balance beam. And that was when a rather impulsive idea popped into my head. I peered over the railing and glanced downward. Despite there being streetlights on the bridge, I couldn't see anything down there. I then glanced down at my sneakers before I kicked them off. Sneakers weren't ideal for what I was about to do. Swinging one of my legs up, I sat straddling the railing. While this wasn't exactly a balance beam, I still felt rather invigorated much in the same way as I did when I was in gymnastics. I swung my legs, feeling the breeze blow against them. I scrunched my toes before I forced myself into a standing position on the bridge.

The breeze whipped the skirt of my dress up, but I didn't really care. No one was there to see me. I flung my arms outward on either side of me like I had done countless times before. I directed my attention at the far street light. I changed my stance so that I was now standing on the balls of my feet before I took a step. One foot in front of the other, focusing on the street light in front of me. I walked until I reached the end and then I pivoted and walked back the other way.

Beam hadn't been my favorite event, I enjoyed floor events better, but I much preferred it to bars and vault. But this added a whole new element that I was enjoying. I was exhilarated and I couldn't remember the last time I felt like this. Probably not since I got the news that Riverdale High was taking away the one thing I felt I was good at.

Once I reached the other end of the railing, I pivoted again and faced the other direction. I took a few more steps before I stopped and glanced down below once more. I flung my arms behind me to bend into an arabesque when someone called, "Don't jump!"

Having thought that I was alone, the voice calling out in the night startled me and caused me to lose my balance. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as I felt myself beginning to fall off the bridge...and not in the direction of the road. I was falling toward the dark unknown. While I knew what lay below, I wasn't sure toward what area I was falling. A girl had died within the last year after falling off this very bridge.

My screams echoed through the chilly night air. I didn't want to die. Sure, I was angsty, but I wasn't ready to die. Again, everything seemed to move in slow motion. A few seconds felt like centuries. My life flashed before my eyes. I thought of my dad...my mom...Archie...Jughead...what would they all think? Would they think I had planned this?

But a two hands shot out and clamped on to my arm. The railing of the bridge kept them from going overboard with me and my momentum. They hissed in pain when I seemed to stop falling and I ended up crashing into the side of the bridge. I felt something crunch as my wrist hit the concrete. With my free hand, I reached up and took hold of the arm that held onto me. I was in pain, but this wasn't how I was going to go. Besides, I still had Cheryl's ass to kick for the stunt she pulled on me.

A head poked over the bridge. It was the face of a boy about my age. I think he had dark hair. It was hard to tell with not much light. "Can you climb up?" he asked.

Unable to find my voice, I just nodded my head before I swung myself so that my legs touched the concrete. Still holding onto his arm, I used it as one would a rope when rock climbing. I was almost to the top when he released one of his hands from my arm and wrapped it around my waist. He pulled me toward him and over the railing. For a few minutes, I just stood there with him holding onto me. I was in shock. I could have died. The boy just stood there with me, holding onto me, somehow knowing that I wasn't quite ready to say anything yet.

But when my senses seemed to come back, I pulled away from him and started to rub my wrist. It hurt like hell. It felt like the time I fell off my bike when I was six. I broke my wrist then and it was probably broken now.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

I stared up at him. He did indeed have dark hair. He always freaking tall and he wore a black leather jacket, which he had pulled up awkwardly around his neck. "I just fell off a bridge and almost died and I probably broke my wrist. How do you think I'm doing?" I hadn't meant to be so blunt with him, but it was if the words had just vomited from my mouth.

He narrowed his eyes. "I just saved you, why are you yelling at me?"

"Because I never would have fallen in the first place if it weren't for you." I moved to fold my arms across my chest, but that made my wrist feel worse. So I removed my arms from that position and cradled my wrist in my good hand.

"You were going to jump," he offered.

"No. I wasn't."

"I've seen you here before. Quite a lot actually. You're always standing, looking over the edge. Like someone who's gonna jump. Although usually, you aren't wearing a dress."

My eyes widened and I stared at him incredulously. "So what, you're stalking me now?" I tapped my barefoot impatiently against the sidewalk and immediately regretted that decision. I should have done that with shoes on. I tried not to show my pain.

I think he could tell that I was trying to mask the pain. He looked almost amused, but that look changed when I refused to back down. He groaned. "I keep an eye on this bridge."

"Yeah, that's called stalking. Come again?"

He shook his head as if in disbelief. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

Still holding my wrist, I narrowed my eyes and looked up at him. God, he was tall. But I kept my composure, despite the pain shooting from my wrist. "From where I'm standing, I think you do."

It was clear he was annoyed with me. He shook his head and stood a little taller. Just when I thought he couldn't get any taller, he somehow manages to tower over me even more. He cocked an eyebrow and looked down at me. "You know, where I'm from, people say thank you when they save their ass."

He did have a point. He could have let my ass fall, but he had saved me. I rolled my eyes before I said, "Thank you." I made sure my tone had a hint of sarcasm to it. It was his fault I fell anyway.

"You're welcome," he responded. His voice too had a hint of sarcasm.

"Now, why were you stalking me?"

He moved to run his fingers through his hair, but he aborted that decision and pulled the collar up on his jacket. I thought it was rather weird, but whatever. "Like I said, I wasn't stalking you. I just watch this bridge for any jumpers. And you come here often enough that you looked like a jumper."

"Well, I'm not...a jumper. I'm a gymnast...or at least I used to be." I softened my stance against him. There really wasn't a reason to put up a fight against him. He had saved me after all...even if he was a stalker. I sighed and walked to grab my shoes. I sat down on the sidewalk and tried to put my shoes on. But with my wrist in its current state, I miserably failed to put them one. I couldn't even get one. I felt rather pathetic, especially since the boy never took his eyes off me. He just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, watching me...like a stalker.

"Did you hurt your wrist?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, my tone somewhat annoyed. Not at him asking the question but because I couldn't get my stupid sneakers on. "It cracked when I hit the wall of the bridge."

He nodded his head and then walked toward me. I was surprised when he sat down next to me. He then snatched my shoe out of my hand and began to loosen the laces for me. "So, if you weren't planning on jumping, what were you doing up there?"

My cheeks burned. I didn't really expect him to understand. I didn't know anything about this guy except that he was tall, kinda cute, and he saved my ass. But I suppose he did deserve somewhat of an explanation given the fact that he did save me. I cleared my throat. "You're gonna think it was stupid. I-I was just doing some gymnastics."

He handed me my shoe back and then held his hand out for me to give him the other. So, I did. He started loosening the laces on the other shoe. "Coming from someone who does a lot of stupid things, that was stupid," he told me.

"Thanks," I scoffed.

"You're welcome." His response seemed much more cheerful than the last time. He handed me my other shoe and I managed to put it on. I then rubbed my wrist, wincing slightly at the pain. I hadn't realized he was still watching me. "You should get that checked out," he said.

"No shit, Sherlock," I muttered. I winced. "I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this."

He nodded his head. "You're in pain, so I can give you a pass. But just this once."

I then forced myself into a standing position. The boy stood up beside me. He had let his jacket fall from his neck. I squinted my eyes because I thought I could see something on his neck. But he must have realized what I was doing because he covered his neck with his hands. My brow furrowed. He was hiding something from me.

"Do you know how to get to the ER?" he asked me.

I nodded my head, still cradling my wrist. "Yeah, only lived in Riverdale my entire life."

"Good."

I chuckled under my breath and shook my head at him. "Well, if I should probably go then." He nodded his head. I turned to walk away. I got to the end of the bridge when I stopped and turned around. n"Hey!" I called out.

He stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Yeah?"

"What's your name?"

He paused for a moment before he called back, "Sweet Pea."

"Sweetie?" I called, clearly confused.

He shook his head. "Sweet. Pea."

"Sweet Tea?" Like the drink? Odd.

He shook his head once more, this time more vigorously. "Sweet. PEA."

"Oh!" I gave him a thumbs up with my good hand. I wasn't entirely sure his real name was Sweet Pea, but I had a friend named Jughead, so who was I to be judging. He gave me a thumbs up back. I then called once more, "Hey, Sweet Pea!"

"Yeah." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. From this far away I couldn't tell if he was actually annoyed or pretending to be annoyed.

"The next time you see me, please don't scare the crap out of me. I much prefer talking." I think he chuckled. It was hard to tell from this far away. He nodded his head. I attempted an awkward wave still holding onto my wrist. He waved back. I turned to walk away.

I only made it a few steps when he called. "Hey!"

"What?" I yelled back.

"You never told me your name."

I chewed my bottom lip for a second before I called back. "Belle! My name is Belle." He gave me a thumbs up. I gave a slight smile and turned to finally walk away. I then began my walk to Riverdale General Hospital, knowing my dad was probably going to kill me.

Author's Note: So, here was another chapter. Belle has now met Sweet Pea (since I know some of you were wanting to see that) We will see the fallout from the Cheryl stuff next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me!

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers:

*fanfictionnet : hoqwaarts, lovelyfandomlover, kmgproductionz, barbychan4ever, RiverdaleFan98, Winchestergirl123,

*Wattpad: randomestfandoms, chelraychicago, foxesandmagic, elenacarin97, autumnalcat

*AO3: mimikoflamemaker

*Quotev: Breana, Lilly, Brooklyn164, Arrow


	7. Feeling the Moment

Calling Dad from the emergency room probably wasn't my best idea. Why aren't you at the dance? Are you okay? Is Jughead with you? What about Archie? What happened? I knew he was worried about me, but I was already playing Twenty Questions with the nurse sitting at the desk, trying to get seen by a doctor to fix my stupid wrist. It was swollen, starting to bruise, and throbbing. I told my dad that the nurse wanted to talk with him and handed the phone over. I had left hell, only to find another one. Dammit. If my wrist wasn't killing me, I probably would have punched something...or maybe someone.

It didn't take long for my dad to get to the emergency room. He probably jumped in the truck the moment I told him where I was. He was such a good dad. I didn't deserve him and he certainly didn't deserve a pathetic excuse for a daughter like me. It seemed like lately, I was always messing up. Would there reach a point when he wouldn't be there to rescue me anymore?

I paced inside the waiting room until Dad ran through the sliding doors into the emergency room. "Annie, are you okay?" he asked as he approached. He was nearly out of breath and he sounded almost panicked.

I grimmaced. I hadn't really answered any of his questions when he had asked and the nurse just told him that he needed to get there so I could be seen. Yeah, probably not my best moment.

Dad repeated himself. "Annie, are you okay?"

"I think I broke my wrist," I said rather lamely as I slightly lifted the hand I had cradled in my other arm.

Dad looked around the room. "How did you get here? Where's Jughead? I thought you were with Jughead."

"I-I left him back at the dance. I walked here." I was leaving out a lot of details, which he didn't deserve, but if I told him where I was, then I would have to explain why I was there. And I definitely didn't want to deal with the why right now or relive the humiliation. I was in pain and I just wanted to get my stupid wrist reset.

A nurse asked Dad if I had permission to be seen. He went and signed a few forms before another nurse came and called me back. Dad gave me a stern look telling me that our conversation wasn't over.

I sighed and nodded my head letting him know I understood. We then followed the nurse to an exam room. The nurse took one look at my wrist and pronounced it broken. No shit, Sherlock. She then brought me a bag of ice while we waited for our turn with the x-ray machine. Apparently, there was a bit of a backup. I wasn't the only teenager to come in from the dance with a broken bone. From what I gathered, there were at least five others who had come from the dance.

Dad looked at me suspiciously, but I quickly told him, "I know nothing about that. I swear."

He nodded his head like he seemed to believe me. I hoped he believed me because it was the god's honest truth. Although, if I had to guess, the punch got spiked or something and some idiot started something. Or maybe an all-out brawl had ensued after my public humiliation. The former was more likely, but part of me hoped the latter and that one of those people was Cheryl. She more than deserved it after the crap she had pulled.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got my x-rays and then met with the doctor. Sure enough, as had been predicted multiple times, my wrist was broken. The doctor reset my wrist, which hurt like freaking hell. He put it in a splint and sent me home. In a few days, I would need to get a cast. Oh, joy.

Having gone through this process once before, neither Dad nor I asked any questions. They gave me some ibuprofen for the pain and we were on our way. It almost felt like we were old pros at this.

The walk to the truck was so silent, it was almost deafening. I knew the moment we hopped in the truck we were going to have that conversation he had been wanting. I wasn't sure why I didn't really talk to my dad about things. I just didn't. To be honest, I didn't really talk to anyone about anything. So it wasn't like I was purposely excluding him. I excluded everyone from my inner thoughts.

Dad opened the passenger door for me and helped me into the truck because my dad was a good and decent guy like that. He walked around to the driver's side and my heart began to pound. I didn't want this conversation. But it was inevitable at this point.

He hopped into the truck and put the keys in the ignition, but didn't start the truck. Dad put his hands on the steering wheel and sighed. He slowly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. I was obvious he was figuring out what exactly he was going to say to me. When he finally did speak, he said, "Annie, you know that I love you, right?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"And you know that I will be there for you no matter what. I mean, I won't hide my feelings on the matter, but I am always there for you." He glanced over at me. Pain was clearly evident in his expression.

My throat started to constrict. "Yeah, Dad."

He nodded his head and didn't say anything for a moment. I almost thought the conversation was over because his head turned and his hand moved for the keys, but he slowly dropped his hand to his lap. "Did I do something wrong, Annie?" he asked, his voice cracking. My heart was already beginning to break at the sight of my dad like this. "I know I'm not your mom, but is there something I wrong you somehow? I've been trying to go over this in my head, trying to figure out why you won't talk to me about things anymore. But I just can't figure it out. You used to tell me everything. And let me tell you, that drove your mom nuts, but these last few months...almost year, that's all changed. And I know you're growing up and you're a teenager and talking to your old man isn't really cool anymore, but I know you're hurting Annie. And I would hate to think that I was the cause of it."

Tears started to stream down my cheeks. I hadn't meant to cause my dad grief in the process. Like I said, he deserved far better than me. I sniffled. "It's not your fault, Dad," I barely choked out. I refused to look at him, knowing that I would just start bawling. Instead, I just kept my gaze on my Converse.

"Annie," my dad whispered. "Please talk to me."

That was when I lost it. "I can't," I somehow managed to squeak-out between sobs. "I just can't, Dad."

"I can't help you if you won't let me."

"I can't tell you Dad. Not because I don't want to but because I don't even know what's going on most of the time." I folded my arms across my chest as if I was trying to protect myself from being emotionally vulnerable. Not that that sort of protection would help any.

Dad sighed. "I know the counselor said to let you journal your thoughts. Is that helping?"

I sighed in return. "A little. Not really. I don't know."

"You can't keep it all bottled-in, Annie. You need to find someone to talk to. Obviously, I would like you to be able to talk to me, but if you can't, I'll understand. But still, talk to someone. Maybe your mom…" he trailed off when I started shaking my head.

"She left me. She lost the right to detail about my life the moment she walked out that door." Clearly, I was still bitter about that. Although it was funny, I hadn't realized how bitter I still was until that moment. I had somehow managed to convince myself that I was fine with her leaving. That it wasn't that big of a deal. But it was.

"Annabelle Celeste," Dad sighed. He only ever used my full name when he was disappointed. "Your mother still loves you very much."

"But not enough to actually be here." I rubbed the splint on my arm.

"Let's get you home and to bed," Dad sighed, dropping the conversation. He must have realized that most of my current crabbiness and moodiness was tied to my wrist. The keys turned in the ignition and the truck roared to life. We rode home in silence.

Once I was home, I went straight to my bedroom and changed. I threw on an oversized Riverdale Gymnastics t-shirt and blue plaid pajama shorts. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and put on my glasses which I was supposed to wear, but rarely did. I sat down at the desk in my room and opened my journal to write. Today had been a hell of a day. I knew I should write something, but I couldn't find the words. Any words really. I had no idea what to write about this day. I knew it was better to get it out while it was still fresh, but words were escaping me.

My phone was also buzzing uncontrollably on the corner of my desk. It was Cheryl, whom I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. I grabbed my phone and shut it off.

Then came a knock at my window.

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Jughead sitting on the tree branch outside my window. He must have noticed that he had frightened me because his expression looked a little sheepish. He then motioned for me to open the window. I rolled my eyes before I moved to open the window.

"Are you trying to murder me?" I hissed at him.

"I'm sorry, I've just been sitting here awhile…"

I stared at him curiously and then my eyes widened. My blinds hadn't been shut the entire time I was changing. He must have known where my thoughts had gone because he said, "I didn't see anything, I swear. I looked away when it looked like...you know...and I sang Bohemian Rapsody to myself...twice...before I looked again. Don't ask me why that song, but I did and..." He paused and looked at me, blushing a little.

I arched an eyebrow at him skeptically.

"I didn't see anything, Annie."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Can I please come in before one of your neighbors calls the cops on me?"

He had a fair point. I wouldn't put it past Mrs. Cooper to do such a thing. So, I nodded my head before he crawled through my window. I noticed he was still dressed in his clothes from the dance. If I had to guess, he had come here after leaving the dance.

Jughead stood in my room and slowly spun in a circle as he looked around my room. "I don't think I've ever actually been in here before," he commented.

It was true. He hadn't ever been in my bedroom before. Sure, he had seen it from the doorway when he walked by on his way to Archie's room, but he hadn't come in before. He walked over to the wall where all my gymnastics ribbons and medals hung. I had been meaning to remove them but had never gotten around to it.

"What are you doing here, Jughead?" I sighed as I folded my arms across my chest.

"I came to check on you. Why else would I be here?"

"I don't know? To kiss and make up with Archie?" I scoffed sarcastically.

Jughead looked at me pointedly over his shoulder. He knew I was being sarcastic. He glanced at my arm and his brow furrowed. I tried to hide my arm with the splint behind my back, but he had obviously seen it. He walked over to me. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I broke my wrist," I said nonchalantly with a shrug.

"I can see that," he said rolling his eyes at me. "How did it happen?" His eyes looked right into mine and his expression was intense.

I squirmed a little. "I'd rather not get into it right now."

"First Cheryl and then that." Jughead shook his head before he sat down in my desk chair. "You're having quite a night, huh?"

I shook my head and scoffed. "Just make yourself at home, why don't you?" I said motioning to him sitting in my chair...in my room. And then a thought struck me. Jughead was the first boy, not related to me, to step foot in my bedroom. The thought made me blush.

Jughead's brow furrowed in confusion. I was so glad that he couldn't actually read my mind. Not wanting to have to explain why I was blushing to him, I plopped on my bed and said, "Go ahead, tell me I told you so."

He shook his head. "That wouldn't do you any good. Besides, I'm afraid you'd slap me." He smiled after he said that. I could tell he was teasing me.

"I wouldn't slap you," I countered, pretending to be offended, and then I paused for a moment before continuing. "I wouldn't want to hurt my good hand too." I offered him a slight smile as I raised my good hand.

He chuckled. "Yeah, don't waste it on me. Save it for Cheryl."

"Don't tempt me."

"Hey! She deserves it after the crap she pulled."

I sighed. "Yeah, but my dad doesn't deserve another emergency room bill."

Jughead nodded his head. "I would have punched her myself, but she disappeared after the whole thing. Probably went home to get ready for her stupid after party."

"Probably." I threw myself back against my pillows and groaned "Gah! I'm so stupid! I never should have gone to that stupid dance."

"That would be my fault," Jughead said. I could hear him walk toward my bed. I forced myself to fully sit up and he looked down at me. "I'm sorry," he apologized. He looked sincere and I couldn't take it. Why did everybody around me apologize for stuff that wasn't their fault?

"Why?" I asked. "You have nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong."

Jughead sighed. "Yeah, but I dragged you to the dance. Well, technically I made your dad take us to the dance, but you get the point."

"I actually had some fun tonight with you, Jughead. Don't apologize for that. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be Cheryl. And by apologizing, I mean she should be groveling for forgiveness. Not that that is ever going to happen."

Jughead looked genuinely surprised. "You had fun with me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't act so surprised."

He shook his head. "It's just not something people say to me very often. I have a reputation you know…"

"One which I know is mostly bullcrap. But you do pull off the brooding quite well."

He chuckled.

Then came the sound of my dad clomping up the stairs. Both Jughead and I looked at each other with wide eyes. Without thinking, I jumped off my bed and started pushing Jughead...into my closet. Why that was my first reaction, I don't know. You would think the window would have been a better option. But instead, I shoved him in my closet and warned him to be quiet. I then quickly ran back to my bed, flung the covers back, jumped in, and pulled the covers over myself.

My heart was racing when a knock came at my door. "Annie?" Dad called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" I called. I was breathing hard and my voice probably resembled that of a cat being strangled. I really didn't want my dad to catch Jughead in my room. I mean we weren't doing anything wrong, but still, it would cause too much of a headache. Although, I can't say I was expecting Jughead Jones to be the first boy I hid in my closet.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

I could tell him no. But I didn't want him thinking that I was angry with him. He was already being too hard on himself over a situation that was out of his control. I just hoped Jughead stayed in my closet. "Yeah," I squeaked out.

Dad opened the door and spotted me in bed. He came in carrying a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen. "This way you don't have to go too far tonight," he said softly before he set them down on my desk.

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling kiddo?"

I held my arm. "It still hurts, but you know, it's broken so that's kinda inevitable."

Dad nodded his head. "I figured you were probably gonna fall asleep soon, so I wanted to say goodnight before you fell asleep. I'm gonna be sitting up downstairs waiting for Archie to get back if you need me."

"Thanks, Dad."

He smiled. Dad came over and kissed the top of my head and tucked me in, just like he did when I was little. "I love you, Annie."

I sighed. "I love you too."

"If you need anything…"

"Dad," I groaned. "I know."

"Right, sorry."

I chuckled. "Good night, Dad."

He smiled. "Good night." Dad left my room and closed the door behind him.

I waited until I heard his footsteps heading down the stairs before I bolted out of my bed and ran for my closet. I flung the door open just as Jughead stood there looking at me with his arms folded across his chest. "What?" I groaned.

"The closet? You hid me in your closet? You do realize the window was closer, right?" He wasn't actually mad. More in disbelief.

But I wasn't going to let that get to me. "Are you going to come out of it or not?" I retorted with my arms folded across my chest. I could be just as broody and sarcastic as he could.

Jughead rolled his eyes and stepped out of my closet. He stopped right in front of me. I looked up at him. I hadn't realized just how tall Jughead had gotten. I came up to his chin. When had he gotten so tall? He looked right back at me and I blushed, wondering what he was thinking about.

"I-uh-I should probably go," Jughead said, still looking at me.

"Yeah," I agreed, not removing my eyes from him.

He nodded his head and broke the spell, walking toward my window. I turned and watched him, chewing my bottom lip. He was almost out of my window when I ran to the window. "Jughead," I breathed.

His head snapped up. "Yeah?"

I wasn't quite sure why I had stopped him. Now he was expecting me to say something. I could tell him thank you, but that didn't quite feel right after the way the night had gone. Although, if I had thought about it, I could have said, thanks for checking on me. But no. Instead, I stupidly said, "See you at school." I almost cringed after the words came out of my mouth.

He paused and furrowed his brow at me before he shrugged his shoulders. "See you at school," he responded back before he disappeared and climbed down the tree.

I watched his silhouette run away before I closed my window and plopped onto my bed once more. Tonight seemed to have lasted forever and it went nothing like I had expected it to.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm here. Things weren't too good for a while there. But I'm here now. Thank you to all of you who have shown support for this story. It means the world to me.

Big shout out my reviewers:

FFN: mystic-scripture, barbychan4ever, Guest, LovelyFandomLover, Guest, GreenLilly, kmgproductionz, Guest

Wattpad: chelraychicago, foxesandmagic, Randomestfandoms, Autumnalcat

AO3: mimikoflamemaker

Quotev: Lilly, H.A.


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